The government on Wednesday said coir geo-textiles will be used in the construction of rural roads under the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY-III).
Coir geo-textiles are permeable fabric, which are natural, strong, highly durable, resistant to rots, moulds and moisture, and free from any microbial attack.
They will be used for construction of rural roads under the PMGSY-III, according to a communication from the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency under Union Ministry of Rural Development.
"This is a very significant development as we have now been successful in deploying coir geo-textiles in road construction. The decision will give a big boost to the coir industry especially in these difficult times of COVID-19 pandemic," Nitin Gadkari, Minister of MSME and Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.
The decision also opens up a huge market potential for coir geo-textiles in the country.
As per the PMGSY new technology guidelines for road construction, 15 per cent length of roads in each batch of proposals is to be constructed using new technologies. Out of this 5 per cent roads are to be constructed using Indian Roads Congress (IRC) accredited technology.
The IRC has now accredited coir geo-textiles for construction of rural roads.
As per these instructions, 5 per cent length of the rural roads under PMGSY-III will be constructed using coir geo-textiles.
Accordingly, 164 km of road will be constructed using coir geo-textiles in Andhra Pradesh, 151 km in Gujarat, 71 km in Kerala, 328 km in Maharashtra, 470 km in Odisha, 369 km in Tamil Nadu and 121 km in Telengana.
Thus, 1,674 km road will be constructed using coir geo-textiles in seven states for which there will be a requirement of one crore sq mtr of coir geo-textiles, estimated cost of which would come to Rs 70 crore.
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